Inter-diver signaling device and process

ABSTRACT

Taps on a beam-interrupt button of an underwater signaling transceiver are encoded as binary frequency shift-key modulated Golay codes, which are transmitted via 56-58 kHz compression waves generated by a ring-shaped electromechanical transducer. Light emitting diodes flash to signal the content of received signals and provide monitoring of the distance between divers. All components of the transceiver—except outer portions of input/output leads and a suction cup for attaching to the transceiver to a diver&#39;s mask—are completely encased in transparent plastic. The input/output leads allow an internal battery to be recharged, provide access to the internal processor for programming and data retrieval, and monitor whether the transceiver is submerged so that the transceiver can operate in an underwater mode or an above-water mode. Transceivers only communicate with other transceivers which use the same communication channel. Transceivers monitor their separation distances and flash a warning signal when nearing an out-of-range condition.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present non-provisional patent application is based on and claimsthe priority of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/933,342,filed Jun. 5, 2007, by the same inventors and having the same title.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to signaling and communication systems,and more particularly to underwater signaling and communication systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Scuba diving is a popular recreational activity enjoyed by hundreds ofthousands of people across the globe. However, because of the risksassociated with scuba diving, one of the fundamental safety rules isthat divers should dive with and be in communication with a companiondiver, i.e., buddy. The most primitive method of attracting a companiondiver's attention when out of visual contact is to bang a hard object,such as a knife, against the diver's air tank. However, this can beinconvenient and requires considerable effort. Furthermore, this methodof signaling has a limited range because the ear does not couplereliably to sound waves in water, and other noises, such as the soundsmade by a diver's breathing, tend to mask signaling sounds.

A wide variety of underwater communication devices have been proposedand manufactured. However, they generally suffer from the disadvantagesof being unwieldy, and difficult to use, having a limited communicationrange, not specific to (i.e., private between) diver pairs or groups ofdivers, lacking reliability, or failing to function well.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide anunderwater communication system which is compact, easy to operate,specific, reliable, and has an extended communication range.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provideunderwater transceivers that communicate using ultrasonic compressionwaves.

Still more particularly, it is an object of the present invention toprovide underwater transceivers that communicate using ultrasoniccompression waves which are transmitted omni-directionally.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provideunderwater transceivers that communicate using ultrasonic compressionwaves in an environment which may produce echoes or phase shifts.

It is another object of the present invention to provide underwatertransceivers whose components are not susceptible to damage due to waterleakage.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to providean underwater transceiver whose components, which include a rechargeablebattery, are not susceptible to damage due to water leakage.

Still more particularly, it is an object of the present invention toprovide an underwater transceiver whose components, which include arechargeable battery, are not susceptible to damage due to waterleakage, and where the charge level of the battery is ascertainable.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwatertransceiver whose components are not susceptible to damage due to waterleakage, and which is programmable and/or from which dive data can beextracted.

It is another object of the present invention to provide underwatertransceivers which have different modes of operation when submerged andwhen not submerged.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwatercommunication system where divers are informed, visually, audibly and/orthrough tactile means, that communications have been received by theirtransceiver or by a companion transceiver.

It is another object of the present invention to provide underwatertransceivers which monitor the separation distance between transceivers.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provideunderwater transceivers which monitor an inter-transceiver separationdistance and inform divers when transceivers are near the limit of theircommunication range.

It is another object of the present invention to provide underwatertransceivers with low power usage.

It is another object of the present invention to provide multiple groupsof underwater transceivers where each transceiver within a groupcommunicates over a communication channel used by that group.

And it is an object of the present invention to provide multiple groupsof underwater transceivers where each transceiver within a groupcommunicates over a communication channel used by that group, and wherepublic channel communications are received by transceivers in allgroups.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwatercommunication system with means for error detection and correction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwatercommunication system which uses Golay codes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwatercommunication system which uses binary frequency-shift key modulation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method foradapting air-environment lenses for use underwater.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method forreceiving sinusoid-based transmissions having a low signal-to-noiseratio.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwatersensing device that is not susceptible to damage due to water leakageinto the device.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwatersensing device with an internal rechargeable battery that is notsusceptible to damage due to water leakage into the device.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwatersensing device whose components are not susceptible to damage due towater leakage, and which is programmable and/or from which dive data canbe extracted.

These and other objects of the present invention will become moreapparent and will be better understood through reference to thesubsequent detailed description considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an underwater sensing device havinga power source, input/output leads, a computation unit powered by thepower source for generating outgoing signals and processing incomingsignals, a sensor for monitoring the state of a diving variable, and achassis which completely encases the power source, computation unit, andthe sensor. The chassis also encases interior portions of theinput/output leads, but exterior portions of the input/output leads areexposed to the environment.

The present invention is also directed to an underwater transceiverhaving a power source, input/output leads, computation unit,electromechanical transducer, and beam-interrupt button. Thebeam-interrupt button has a light source which produces a light beamdirected towards a light detector. The light source and light detectorare separated by a gap which a diver can tap to create an interruptionin the beam. Interruptions in the beam being are detected by thecomputation unit and transmitted via outgoing signals. The chassiscompletely encases the power source, input/output leads, computationunit, electromechanical transducer, light source and light detector. Thechassis also encases interior portions of the input/output leads, butexterior portions of the input/output leads are exposed to theenvironment.

The present invention is also directed to method of communicationbetween two divers wearing underwater signaling devices. When a firstdiver taps a beam-interrupt button on his underwater signaling device,the underwater signaling device interprets the tapping and sends out acompression wave communication signal. The underwater signaling deviceof the second diver receives and interprets the communication signal,and flashes a reception light signal visible to the second diver oremits an audible signal to the second diver corresponding to thetapping. The second diver's underwater signaling device then sends out acompression wave confirmation signal which the first diver's underwatersignaling device receives and interprets, and then flashes aconfirmation light signal visible to the first diver. The first diver'sunderwater signaling device determines the separation distance betweenthe two underwater signaling devices based on the intensity of thecompression wave confirmation signal.

The present invention is also directed to a method of communicationbetween two divers wearing underwater signaling devices. When a firstdiver taps a beam-interrupt button on his underwater signaling device,the underwater signaling device interprets the tapping and sends out acompression wave communication signal. The underwater signaling deviceof the second diver receives and interprets the communication signal,and flashes a reception light signal visible to the second divercorresponding to the tapping and/or an audible signal audible to thesecond diver corresponding to the tapping. The second diver's underwatersignaling device then sends out a compression wave confirmation signalwhich the first diver's underwater signaling device receives andinterprets, and then flashes a confirmation light signal visible to thefirst diver. The first diver's underwater signaling device determinesthe round-trip communication time based on the elapsed time between thesending of the communication signal and the receipt of the confirmationsignal.

The present invention is also directed to another method ofcommunication between two divers wearing underwater signaling devices.When a first diver taps a beam-interrupt button on his underwatersignaling device, the underwater signaling device interprets the tappingand sends out a compression wave communication signal. The underwatersignaling device of the second diver receives and interprets thecommunication signal, and produces an audible signal for the seconddiver corresponding to the tapping. The second diver's underwatersignaling device then sends out a compression wave confirmation signalfor the first diver's underwater signaling device to receive andinterpret.

The present invention is also directed to another method ofcommunication between two divers wearing underwater signaling devices.When a first diver taps a beam-interrupt button on his underwatersignaling device, the underwater signaling device interprets the tappingand sends out a compression wave communication signal. The underwatersignaling device of the second diver receives and interprets thecommunication signal, and flashes a reception light signal visible tothe second diver corresponding to the tapping. The second diver'sunderwater signaling device sends out a compression wave confirmationsignal which the first diver's underwater signaling device receives andinterprets, and then flashes a confirmation light signal visible to thefirst diver. The first diver's underwater signaling device sends out afirst compression wave ranging signal. The second diver's underwatersignaling device detects the first ranging signal and sends out a returncompression wave ranging signal which the first underwater signalingdevice detects and determines the round-trip communication time beingbased on the elapsed time between the sending of the first rangingsignal and the reception of the return ranging signal.

The present invention is also directed to another method ofcommunication between two divers wearing underwater signaling devices.Each of the underwater signaling devices determines whether it issubmerged by measuring the impedance across electrical leads exposed tothe environment. While the two underwater signaling devices aresubmerged, the first diver taps a beam-interrupt button on theunderwater signaling device and the underwater signaling deviceinterprets the tapping and sends out a compression wave communicationsignal. The underwater signaling device receives and interprets thecommunication signal, and flashes a reception light signal visible tothe second diver corresponding to the tapping. The second diver'sunderwater signaling device sends out a compression wave confirmationsignal which the first diver's underwater signaling device receives andinterprets, and then flashes a confirmation light signal visible to thefirst diver. While each underwater signaling device is not submerged, itflashes a power-level light signal indicating the level of charge of itsbattery.

The present invention is also directed to another method ofcommunication between a first diver and a group of other divers wearingunderwater signaling devices. The first diver taps a beam-interruptbutton on his underwater signaling device and the underwater signalingdevice interprets the tapping and sends out a compression wavecommunication signal. The other underwater signaling devices receive andinterpret the communication signal, and flash a reception light signalvisible to the other divers corresponding to the tapping. The otherdiver's underwater signaling devices each send out a compression waveconfirmation signal which the first diver's underwater signaling devicereceives and interprets, and then flashes a confirmation light signalvisible to the first diver.

The present invention is also directed to another method ofcommunication between two divers wearing underwater signaling devices.Each of the underwater signaling devices determines whether it issubmerged by measuring the impedance across electrical leads exposed tothe environment. While the underwater signaling devices are notsubmerged, a first one sends out a mating initiation signal. The firstunderwater signaling device sends out a channel-specification signalwhich specifies a channel decode for subsequent communications betweenthe two underwater signaling devices. While both underwater signalingdevices are submerged, the diver wearing a first underwater signalingdevice taps a beam-interrupt button on the first underwater signalingdevice and the underwater signaling device interprets the tapping andsends out a compression wave communication signal. The second underwatersignaling device receives and interprets the communication signal, andflashes a reception light signal visible to the second divercorresponding to the tapping. The second diver's underwater signalingdevice sends out a compression wave confirmation signal which the firstdiver's underwater signaling device receives and interprets, and thenflashes a confirmation light signal visible to the first diver.

The present invention is also directed to another method ofcommunication between two pairs of divers wearing underwater signalingdevices where a communication channel specific to each pair is generatedand used. Each of the underwater signaling devices determines whether itis submerged by measuring the impedance across electrical leads exposedto the environment. While the first pair of underwater signaling devicesis not submerged, a first one of the first pair sends out a matinginitiation signal. The first of the first pair of underwater signalingdevices sends out a channel-specification signal which specifies a firstchannel decode for subsequent communications between the first pair ofunderwater signaling devices. While the second pair of underwatersignaling devices is not submerged, a first one of the second pair ofunderwater signaling devices sends out a mating initiation signal. Thefirst of the second pair of underwater signaling devices sends out achannel-specification signal which specifies a second channel decode forsubsequent communications between the second pair of underwatersignaling devices. While the first pair of underwater signaling devicesis submerged, a diver wearing the first one of the first pair ofunderwater signaling devices taps a beam-interrupt button on theunderwater signaling device and the underwater signaling deviceinterprets the tapping and sends out a compression wave communicationsignal over the first channel. The second of the first pair ofunderwater signaling devices receives and interprets the communicationsignal, and flashes a reception light signal visible to the second ofthe first pair of divers corresponding to the tapping. The second of thefirst pair of underwater signaling devices sends out a compression waveconfirmation signal over the first channel which the first of the firstpair of underwater signaling devices receives and interprets, and thenflashes a confirmation light signal visible to the first of the firstpair of divers. While the second pair of underwater signaling devices issubmerged, a diver wearing a first one of the second pair of underwatersignaling devices taps a beam-interrupt button on the underwatersignaling device and the underwater signaling device interprets thetapping and sends out a compression wave communication signal over thesecond channel. The second of the second pair of underwater signalingdevices receives and interprets the communication signal, and flashes areception light signal visible to the second of the second pair ofdivers corresponding to the tapping. The second of the second pair ofunderwater signaling devices sends out a compression wave confirmationsignal over the second channel which the first of the second pair ofunderwater signaling devices receives and interprets, and then flashes aconfirmation light signal visible to the first of the second pair ofdivers.

The present invention is also directed to a method of communicationbetween two transceivers where each of the transceivers listens forcommunication signals from the other during periodic detection windowshaving a length of P bits. When a transceiver does not detect acommunication signal during a detection window, it listens for acommunication signal in the next detection window. The communicationsignals are an initial N-bit length code followed by a gap followed by arepetition of the initial N-bit length code, where N is greater than P.The beginnings of the detection windows are separated by less than thetransmission time for N bits. When a transceiver detects a communicationsignal during one of the detection windows, it receives a subsequentportion of the communication signal during a reception window having alength at least as long as the length of the gap plus the transmissiontime for N bits.

The present invention is also directed to a method for ascertainingwhether a signal at a specific frequency is received. Received input isdigitized to a first constant value if the received input is positiveand to a negative of the constant value if the received input isnegative to provide digitized samples. The digitized samples aremultiplied with values of a sine wave of the specific frequency atcorresponding times to provide intermediate sine products, and theintermediate sine products are summed to provide a sine correlation. Thedigitized samples are also multiplied with values of a cosine wave ofthe specific frequency at corresponding times to provide intermediatecosine products, and the intermediate cosine products are summed toprovide a cosine correlation. The cosine correlation and the sinecorrelation are combined and compared to a threshold value.

The present invention is also directed to a method for maintaining thefocusing properties in underwater use of a light source or detectorhaving an air-environment lens. The lens of the light source or detectoris enclosed in an environment with an index of refraction near unitywithin a transparent container, the transparent container havingnon-focusing surfaces through which light from the light source ordetector passes. Then the transparent container is encased in atransparent plastic to prevent liquid leakage into the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthe present specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the description given above and the detailed descriptionof the preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1A shows the device of the present invention attached to a diver'smask.

FIG. 1B is a close-up view of the device.

FIG. 1C is another close-up view of the device.

FIG. 1D is a close-up view of the light detector of the beam-interruptbutton.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of the internal components of the device ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2B is a circuit diagram for the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is the main-loop flow chart for the process by which the deviceoperates.

FIG. 4 is the flow chart for low-power timeouts.

FIG. 5 is the flow chart for the process of detecting whether theinput-output leads are wetted.

FIG. 6 is the flow chart for the method of counting taps on thebeam-interrupt button.

FIG. 7 is a timing diagram for transmission and reception ofcommunication signals, and a series of exploded views of the initialtiming diagram.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the reception process.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of the incident signal detection process.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for the process of calculating correlations.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for the process of locating the gap between theGolay codes in a transmission.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for the transmission process.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for the pulse-width modulation method forcontrolling the LEDs.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart for the interruptor engine which monitors thebeam-interrupt button.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND PROCESS

The apparatus of the present invention is an underwater inter-diversignaling device 100 which mounts on the glass 98 of a diver's divingmask 99 as shown in FIG. 1A. Preferably, the device 100 is mounted on anupper corner of the glass 98 with the bulk of the chassis 105 of thedevice 100 extending beyond the range of vision provided by the divingmask 99, so that the light from the LEDs 230 will be visible but thedevice 100 minimally obscures the diver's vision. The preferredembodiment of the outer contours of the device 100 and placement of themain internal physical components within the device 100 are shown inFIGS. 1B and 1C. The device 100 consists of a main chassis 105, asuction cup 110 extending from one side of the chassis 105, abeam-interrupt button 130 built into the other side of the chassis 105,and a toroidal ultrasonic transducer 115 (not visible in FIGS. 1A, 1Band 1C) within a roughly disk-shaped collar 114 at the top of thechassis 105. The device 100 is light weight, and roughly thumb size. Thesuction cup 110 is clear, and centered behind the suction cup 110 is abank of LEDs 230 (except blue LED D5 which is located elsewhere asdescribed below) not visible in FIGS. 1B and 1C, but shown in thecircuit diagram of FIGS. 2A and 2B. (Alternatively, the suction cup 110can be removed and a light pipe may be inserted into the suction cup'ssocket, so that the chassis 105 may be mounted away from the mask 99,and light from the LEDs 230 may be channeled to the glass 98 of the mask99 or somewhere else easily viewed. This provides the advantage ofobscuring a smaller portion of the diver's view.) The blue LED D5 islocated at the top of the device 100, under the I/O leads 140 near thecenter of the transducer 115. The capacitor in parallel with the LED D5acts as a voltage doubler, increasing the brightness of the LED D5. TheLED D5 flashes every three seconds to facilitate visual contact betweendivers.

The device 100 has roughly neutral buoyancy and is easily attached tothe “glass” of any diver's diving mask 99 with the suction cup. Theregion below the collar 114 is indented relative to the suction cup 100providing room for the rim 95 of a diver's mask 99. When attachment ofthe device 100 to the diver's mask 99 is made above water, the waterpressure against the suction cup 110 when submerged provides a firmattachment. (For additional security a lanyard may be used to tether thedevice 100 to the strap 90 of the diver's mask 99.) The front and rearsurfaces of the suction cup 110 are flat, and therefore non-focusing, sothat the light from the LEDs 230 has a wide, even distribution and isvisible to the diver. The suction cup 110 is affixed to the chassis 105of the device via a friction fit of a bulbous nib (not visible in thefigures) extending out of the apex of the cup 110 into asimilarly-shaped cavity (not visible in the figures) in the chassis 105,so that the suction cup 110 can be replaced if the rubber from which itis made loses its elasticity or strength.

From the top of the chassis 105 extends two non-corrodible L-shapedinput/output (I/O) leads 140 a and 140 b which have a number offunctions. By monitoring the impedance between the I/O leads 140 a and140 b (collectively referred to with reference numeral 140), a processor(not shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C) inside the device 100 detects whether thedevice is wetted by fresh water, wetted by salt water, or not wetted bywater. Typically, the wetting or non-wetting will by produced bysubmerging or not submerging the device 100, and will be referred to inthe present specification as such. The device 100 has different modes ofoperation when submerged and when not submerged in water, as will bedescribed below. The I/O leads 140 are also used to transfer informationto the processor (for instance, for updating, upgrading, modifying, ordebugging the software), and to access data from a processor 210 (shownin FIGS. 2A and 2B, and also referred to in the present specification asthe CPU 210). The I/O leads 140 are also used to charge the battery byapplying a voltage above a threshold level (which in the preferredembodiment is 3.95 Volts) to the I/O leads 140. The gap between the endsof the I/O leads 140 is spanned with a bead 142 of non-conductingplastic, and the above-mentioned lanyard can be strung through the loopformed by the I/O leads 140, bead 142 and chassis 105.

The beam-interrupt button 130 has no moving parts, and all the internalcomponents, except exterior portions of the I/O leads 140, arecompletely and permanently sealed inside the translucent (i.e.,non-opaque) plastic of the chassis 105 by molding the plastic around thecomponents so they are completely encased and there is no danger ofwater leakage into the circuitry. (By “permanently” sealed it is meantthat the components cannot be freed or physically accessed withoutbreaking the plastic. Furthermore, according to the lexography of thepresent specification, to be “completely, permanently encased” inplastic means to be completely and permanently sealed inside plastic asdescribed above.) The button 130 can be easily “pushed” using a glovedfinger or an ungloved finger. The beam-interrupt button 130 has aroughly ellipsoidal-section concave tap basin 131 on the side of thedevice 100 opposite the suction cup 110, with a first cylindrical bore132 extending from the center and parallel to the major axis of theellipsoid, and a second cylindrical bore 133 extending from the centerin the opposite direction to the first cylindrical bore 132. At the endof the first cylindrical bore 132 is a light detector 117 and at the endof the second cylindrical bore 133 is a light emitter 118, andinterruptions of the beam from the emitter 118 to the detector 117 aredetected by the processor 210.

The emitter 118 is an infra-red LED and the detector 117 is aphoto-transistor which detects infra-red radiation. Using the infra-redportion of the spectrum for the beam of the beam-interrupt button 130provides the advantages that (i) photo-transistors for sensing infra-redare inexpensive, reliable and readily available, and (ii) infra-redradiation from sunlight is quickly absorbed by water so that the amountof ambient infra-red radiation decreases quickly with the depth of thedive, facilitating detection of the beam from the emitter 118. As can beseen from the perspective view of the infra-red detector 117 shown inFIG. 1D, to preserve the functioning of the lens as a lens whenunderwater an air cavity 160 with a flat boundary normal to the axisbetween the emitter 118 and detector 117 is formed by a cover 170 overthe lens 155 of the LED. (For the purposes of the present specification,“air” may be a vacuum or any gas which has an index of refraction closeto that of air, and an “air environment” is an environment with an indexof refraction close to that of air, i.e., close to unity. Furthermore,boundary surfaces are considered to be “non-focusing” when light throughsaid boundaries is not focused on the length scale of the path of thelight within the device.) The cover 170 is friction fitted over thechassis 150 of the detector 117, and the assembly 170/150 is dipped inurethane, preferably the same urethane used for the chassis 105 of thedevice 100, and allowed to set in a rubber mold to insure a flat topsurface. Sealing the assembly 170/150 in urethane insures that nourethane leaks under the cover 170 when molded inside the chassis 105 ofthe device. The sides of the detector 117 are opaqued via dark paint toprevent ambient light from the sides reaching the lens 155. (An aircavity is formed around the lens of the emitter 118 in the same mannerand for the same purpose as for the detector 117.)

At the top end (according to the orientations shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C)of the device 100 is a roughly disk-shaped collar 114 within which is aring-shaped transducer 115 made of a lead-zirconium-titanate ceramic(not visible in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C). The transducer 115 is driven bythe processor 210 to expand and contract radially at an ultrasonicfrequency in the neighborhood of 57 kHz to generate toroidal compressionwaves which another device 100 according to the present invention candetect. As the toroidal compression waves expand outwards theyincreasingly approximate a spherical wave (except a narrow zero remainsat the poles), and the power per unit area of the waves falls off as1/r². To maximize the efficiency of the transducer 115, the plastic isselected to have an acoustic impedance halfway between that of water andthat of the ceramic. If the plastic is too stiff, the transducer 115cannot perform its radial oscillations. If the plastic is too soft, theultrasonic waves are absorbed by the plastic. In the preferredembodiment, the plastic has a Shore hardness of between D40 and D70,more preferably between D50 and D60, and still more preferably roughlyD55. The transmissions are binary frequency-shift keying modulated,since frequency-shift keying (as opposed to phase-shift keying) isrelatively insensitive to the phase shifts which result fromtransmissions through air bubbles. (Binary frequency-shift keyingmodulation is also called binary frequency-shift keying encoding orbinary frequency-shift keying in the literature, but the term modulationis used in this context in the present specification to clearlydifferentiate from the channelization processes that are referred to asencoding in the present specification.)

It should be noted that although there is a zero in the emissions of thetransducer 115 along the axis of circular symmetry of the transducer115, the transmission is essentially omni-directional since thelikelihood of two devices being aligned such that one is sufficientlynear the zero of reception or transmission of the other to hindercommunication is low given the sensitivity in reception of the devices100 of the present invention. The frequency of the transmissions, whichare in the neighborhood of 57 kHz, is chosen to be high enough that (i)it is above that of most underwater background noise and (ii) does notrequire an overly large transducer 115 (since the size of the transducerneeded varies inversely with frequency), yet not so high thatdistance-attenuation, which increases with frequency, overly limits thecommunication range of devices 100.

All the internal components of the device 100 (i.e., any precastingsupport structures (not shown), the transducer 115, the infra-redemitter 118, the infra-red detector 117, and the circuitry 200,including the processor 210, the LEDs 230, battery 280, and all internalwiring) except the exposed parts of the I/O leads 140 are completelyencapsulated in transparent plastic. (The circuitry is referred tocollectively, generically or in part with reference numeral 200.) Thisis accomplished by using the I/O leads 140 to position the device in themold, and then forming plastic around the internal components 115, 118,117, 210, 230, 280, etc. This insures that there is no risk of“waterproof” seals rupturing—the device 100 of the present invention iswaterproof well beyond the depths which scuba divers can go. Because thebattery 280 would be destroyed by the heat and temperature required forinjection molding, the plastic of the chassis 105 is formed by achemical reaction.

A block diagram for the circuitry 200 of the device 100 is shown in FIG.2A. The actual circuit diagram of the circuitry 200 with the componentsof the block diagram superimposed, but the interconnections of FIG. 2Aomitted, is shown in FIG. 2B. (For clarity of presentation, bypasscapacitors are also omitted from the circuitry 200 of FIG. 2B.) As shownin FIGS. 2A and 2B, the I/O leads 140 are connected to (i) a batterycharger 205 so as to allow the charger 205 to charge the battery 280,(ii) a programming interface 240 so as to allow the CPU 210 to beprogrammed, and (iii) an underwater detector 220 so as to allow thedevice 100 to determine whether it is underwater or not. The CPU 210also receives input from the beam-interrupt button 130, and signals φ(t)received by the transducer 115 are sent via a band-pass amplifier 270 tothe CPU 210. Timing is controlled by a 16 MHz crystal (shown in FIG.2B), providing an accuracy with other devices 100 of thirty parts permillion. The CPU 210 controls the LED display 230 and the output drivers250. The output drivers 250 power the transducer 115 via the transformer260 which increases the signal voltage from 4 V to 80 V. The modulationof outgoing signals φ_(o)(t) and the demodulation of incoming signalsφ_(i)(t) is performed by software loaded into the CPU 210, rather thanin hardware, allowing the functioning of the device 100 to be easilyupgraded, updated, customized, or otherwise modified.

Description of the Functions and Operation

A first diver wearing a first device 100 according to the presentinvention communicates to a second diver wearing a second device 100according to the present invention by tapping the tap basin 131, therebyinterrupting the light beam from the infra-red emitter 118 to theinfra-red detector 117. The processor 210 in the first device 100ascertains that the light beam has been interrupted, and sends a signalto the transducer 115 to cause it to rapidly expand and contract,sending an ultrasonic compression-wave signal φ_(o)(t) corresponding towhat was tapped on the tap basin 117 through the water. (It should beunderstood that the ultrasonic compression-wave signal φ_(o)(t)“corresponds” to what was tapped in that there is a mapping between whatwas tapped and the ultrasonic compression-wave signal φ_(o)(t).) If thesecond device 100 is within range and using the same decode (i.e.,communicating over the same decode communication channel), thetransducer 115 in the second device 100 receives the compression wavesφ_(i)(t), the processor 210 in the second device 100 processes thecompression waves to determine the communication tapped by the firstdiver, and the processor 210 in the second device 100 causes the coloredLEDs 230 behind the second diver's suction cup 110 to flash according topredetermined criteria, as well as an audible signal to be emitted. (Itshould be noted that according to the lexography of the presentspecification, the “flashing” of a light or lights is a change of stateof any sort, such as a change in color, brightness, turning on or off,or a change in the rate of blinking.) Upon receiving a signal from thefirst device 100, the second device 100 sends a reception-confirmationsignal back to the first device 100. When the first device 100 receivesthe reception-confirmation signal, its processor 210 flashes the coloredLEDs 230 behind the first diver's suction cup 110 in atransmission-received pattern. (Transmissions initiated by the seconddiver for reception by the first diver work in the same manner asdescribed above with “first” substituted for “second.”)

Also, a group of more than two divers wearing the devices 100 maycommunicate with each other according to the present invention. A firstdiver wearing a first device 100 may communicate to the other divers inthe group by tapping the tap basin 131, interrupting the light beam fromthe infra-red emitter 118 to the infra-red detector 117. The processor210 in the first device 100 determines that the light beam has beeninterrupted, and sends a signal to the transducer 115 to cause it tosend ultrasonic compression waves through the water. When thetransducers 115 in the devices 100 of the other divers receive thecompression waves, their processors 210 process the received signal todetermine the signal tapped by the first diver, and cause the coloredLEDs 230 behind the divers' suction cups 110 to flash according topredetermined criteria, as well as an audible signal to be emitted. Uponreceiving a signal from the first device 100, the devices 100 of theother divers send reception-confirmation signals back to the firstdevice 100. When the first device 100 receives thereception-confirmation signal, its processor 210 flashes the coloredLEDs 230 behind the first diver's suction cup 110 in atransmission-received pattern which reflects if all, some, or none ofthe other divers received the initial transmission. Alternatively, thecolored LEDs 230 behind the first diver's suction cup 110 may flash in atransmission-received pattern which reflects the number of other diverswhich received the initial transmission. In the preferred embodiment,when only two divers are in communication (i.e., “coupled”) using thedevice of the present invention, the green LED 230 flashes when thefirst device 100 receives the reception-confirmation signal from thesecond device, and the red LED 230 flashes if the first device does notreceive the reception-confirmation signal within a time equal toapproximately twice the maximum communication distance divided by thespeed of sound in water.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, thetransducer 115 can also be used to produce an audible output byparametric downmixing. The parametric downmixing is accomplished bysending out two ultrasonic tones within the characteristic ringing timeof the electromechanical transducer 115, causing sum and differencefrequencies to be produced by mechanical non-linearities in thetransducer 115 or the device 100 as a whole. For instance, a 56 kHZ tonefollowed directly by a 57 kHz tone produces a 1 kHz tone, and a 56 kHZtone followed directly by a 58 kHz tone produces a 2 kHz tone. Thisaudible signal is used as an indicator, along with the blinking LEDs230, of signal reception, low battery condition, buddy out of range,emergencies, etc.

Alternatively, the signals transmitted by the transducer 115 can be usedto produce an audible or tactile output by modulating a high-frequencyultrasonic signal. In the preferred embodiment the signal is modulatedby a “chirp” envelope, producing a sensation which is at the borderbetween audible and tactile and is detectable both audibly andtactilely. This audible signal can be used as an indicator, along withthe blinking LEDs 230, of signal reception, low battery condition, buddyout of range, emergencies, etc.

The processor 210 differentiates between a long tap, i.e., one where thefinger stays in contact with the tap basin 131 for over roughly threeseconds, and shorter taps. The functioning in response to taps on thebeam-interrupt button 130 is different if the devices are underwater andtherefore actively performing inter-diver communications, or above waterand therefore in the process of being programmed or mated. Whenunderwater, the meanings assigned to the number of taps used incommunications is at the discretion of divers. One of the most usefulfunctions of the signaling device 100 is to allow a diver to requestthat a “buddy” diver makes visual contact with him or her, so that wouldtypically be the meaning assigned to a one-tap signal or a two-tapsignal.

When underwater, the devices 100 exchange synchronization/ranging“pings” at regular intervals of once every sixty seconds. The time for aping to travel from one device to another and back again is measuredand, given the known speed of sound in water, the distance between thedevices 100 is determined. Alternatively, the distance between thedevices 100 is determined by monitoring the intensity of compressionwave communication signals. To help divers avoid straying beyond thecommunication range with each other, the devices 100 indicate theirseparation distance by a color-coded regular-flashing of the LEDs 230when appropriate. If the divers are well within range of each other, thegreen LED 230 flashes at roughly 5 second intervals. If the separationbetween divers begins to approach the limits of the communication range,the yellow LED 230 flashes at roughly two-second intervals. And if thedivers are out of range of each other or in imminent danger of going outof range of each other, the red LED 230 flashes roughly three times persecond.

The brightness of the LEDs 230 is adjusted to decrease as the amount ofambient light decreases by monitoring the amount of background lightdetected by the beam-interrupt button's infra-red detector 117 (whichalso provides output to some extent for visible light) when theinfra-red emitter 118 is not on, and adjusting the brightness of theLEDs 230 via pulse-width modulation. Ambient light decreasesconsiderably with the depth of a dive, and there is a considerabledifference in amount of ambient light between day dives and night orcave dives. Adjusting the brightness of the LEDs 230 based on the amountof ambient light prevents the LEDs 230 from producing temporary blindspots in the diver's vision.

The LEDs 230 are also used to indicate the battery level directly afterthe device 100 is powered up. When the device 100 is not submerged, thebattery level can also be ascertained by “pressing” the beam-interruptbutton 130 for three seconds. The LEDs 230 also indicate battery levelby flashing every three seconds when the device 100 has gone into itsbattery-conserving low-power mode when above water and not in use. Aflashing blue LED 230 indicates the battery 280 is fully charged and thedevice 100 can be used for roughly twenty-five dives. A flashing greenLED 230 indicates the battery 280 is charged to a level sufficient forthe device 100 to be used for multiple dives. A flashing yellow LED 230indicates the battery 280 is charged to a level sufficient for thedevice 100 to be used for a single dive. A flashing red LED 230indicates the battery 280 needs to be recharged before the device isused. The charge level of the battery 280 is monitored by comparing thebattery voltage to the electronic band gap of silicon, which is 1.2 V.

The devices 100 are optimized for low power usage in a number of ways,allowing a device 100 to be used for roughly twenty-five dives beforeneeding recharging. When not submerged the devices 100 enter a low-powermode where the battery-level indicator light flashes once every threeseconds. When underwater, the major source of power usage is inproducing transmissions.

Communications according to the present invention use Golay codes havinga length of 23 bits, of which 12 bits are carriers of information (i.e.,there is a 12-bit “payload”) and the remaining 11 bits are errordetection and correction bits. These Golay codes can detect up to 6errors or can correct up to 3 errors. A tutorial on Golay codes can befound in Kanemasu, M., “Golay Codes,” pp. 95-99, MIT UndergraduateJournal of Mathematics, MIT Press, 1990, which is incorporated herein byreference. According to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, nine bits of the payload is a “decode” specifying thecommunication channel, and the other three bits are an “operation code”used for transmitting information or specifying instructions.

The processor 210 in each device 100 is initialized at the factory witha decode. There are 2⁹=512 different nine-bit decodes, so the likelihoodof two randomly chosen devices having the same decode is small. In orderto communicate, a device 100 must know the decode its partner device ordevices 100 are transmitting. According to the present invention, twocommunicating devices 100 are put through a “mating” process which setsthem to use the same decode. To couple two devices 100, they are broughtto within a foot or so of each other while above water, and thebeam-interrupt button 130 of one of the devices 100 is tapped four timesto induce the processor 210 to send out a mating signal. (The tappingsequence used to initiate mating should be one which is relatively easyto do intentionally but rarely occurs unintentionally. For instance, inan alternate embodiment the initiation of mating is accomplished byholding down the beam-interrupt button 130 causing an acknowledgementLED 230 to light, waiting until the LED 230 goes off after threeseconds, and then tapping the beam-interrupt button 130 again within onesecond.) When the other device 100 detects a mating signal, it 100signals its reception and then the first device 100 sends the decodewhich will be used in communications between the two devices 100. It isalso possible to couple more than two devices 100 using the sameprocess. All the devices 100 are brought within a foot or so of eachother while above water, and a quadruple tap on one of the devices 100causes it to send out a mating signal which the other devices 100 in thevicinity will then use as the decode, and confirm their reception bysending back confirmation signals. When a device 100 is triggered toinitiate the process, the decode which it transmits is the decode whichit was assigned at the production factory. Therefore, triggering adevice 100 will generally decouple it 100 from any devices 100 it hadbeen coupled to previously. If two or more devices 100 in a first groupare to be coupled and the factory preset decode of a first one of thedevices 100 in the first group inadvertently couples it to anothernearby group of devices 100 which the first group were not intended tobe coupled with (this has a relatively small chance of happening becausethere are 512 different decodes), then a second of the devices 100 inthe first group may be used to initiate the mating (since the odds arevery small the second device 100 in the first group will have the samefactory preset decode as the first device 100 in the first group).

The mating can be reversed in a device 100 by separating it by at leastseveral feet from other devices 100 and again tapping the beam-interruptbutton 130 four times. This is useful when the factory preset decode ofthat device 100 is to be used as the group decode when there was acoincidence in decodes between groups of devices 100 that are intendedto be in the proximity of each other during a dive but not intended tobe in communication.

The above-described functions are implemented by the CPU 210 using themain loop flowchart 300 of FIG. 3. Each loop of the main loop 300 beginsby setting the start of a time interval 301. The device 100 then detects500 whether the I/O leads are wetted (which is generally when it isunderwater, and will be referred to in the present specification asbeing “submerged”) by measuring the resistance across the I/O leads 140,as discussed in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 5. Then it isdetermined 305 whether the beam-interrupt button 130 is currentlypressed. If the beam-interrupt button 130 is pressed 305 y, then acount-taps function 600 is implemented, as discussed in more detailbelow in conjunction with FIG. 6. A low-power timeout is then initiated341, i.e., the low-power mode of operation is terminated for a timeoutinterval, and the determination 500 made above as to whether the device100 is underwater is consulted 345. If the device 100 is 345 yunderwater, then it is determined 365 whether the beam-interrupt button130 is being held down (i.e., if there is an extended-period“depression” of the button 130) or tapped (i.e., if there is ashort-period “depression” of the button 130). If the button 130 is 365 ybeing held down, then the public code, i.e., a code on a channelreceivable by all devices 100, is transmitted 366. The public code maybe transmitted multiple times or continually. (The transmission processis discussed in detail below in conjunction with FIG. 12.) If the button130 is not 365 n being held down, then the number of taps on the button130 is tallied 370, a tap code is generated 380, and the tap code istransmitted 381. The “tap code” is the Golay code which incorporates theappropriate decode and an operation code representing the tap sequencedetected to have been performed on the button 130.

However, if at step 345 it is determined that the device 100 is not 345n underwater, then it is determined 350 whether the beam-interruptbutton 130 is being held down (versus being tapped). If the button 130is 350 y being held down, then the LEDs 230 are flashed 355 to indicatethe battery level as described above. However, if the button 130 is not350 n being held down, i.e., it is being tapped, then the number of tapson the button 130 is tallied 360. If the number of taps is between oneand three 360 a, then the tap code is set 380 and transmitted 381. Ifthe number of taps is four 360 b, then a mating-initiating code istransmitted 362 so that a neighboring device 100 may mate to it.Following that 362, a transmission incorporating the decode for thatdevice 100 is transmitted 363, and the device 100 enters 390 an idlemode for a length of 19.5 bit times, before returning to the top 301 ofthe main loop 300.

If at step 305 it is determined that the beam-interrupt button 130 isnot 305 n pressed, then the determination 500 made above as to whetherthe device 100 is underwater is consulted 310. If the device 100 is not310 n underwater, then the device 100 enters a low-power mode ofoperation 400 and returns to the top 301 of the main loop 300. If thedevice 100 is 310 y underwater, then the low-power timeout is set 315(i.e., the entry into the low-power mode of operation is delayed for atime-out interval) and a transmission is listened for 800, as isdescribed below in conjunction with FIG. 8. It is next determined 325whether an acknowledgement is required because a transmission has beenreceived. If an acknowledgement is 325 y required, then theacknowledgement is transmitted 330, otherwise 325 n no acknowledgementis sent. The device 100 then enters 390 an idle mode for a length of19.5 bit times, before returning to the top 301 of the main loop 300.

The process 400 for the low-power mode of operation is shown in theflowchart 400 of FIG. 4. The process 400 begins by determining 405whether the current time is later than the end of the current low-powertimeout. (During a low-power timeout the device 100 is in a normal powerusage mode of operation.) If it is not 405 n, then the process 400returns 440. However, if the current time is 405 y later than the end ofthe current low-power timeout, then the device 100 is powered down 410for an additional one second, and the underwater detection operation 500is performed. The result of the underwater detection 500 is then queried420 as to whether the device 100 is underwater, and if the device is not420 n underwater, then the process flow returns to the step of poweringdown of an additional second 410. However, if the device 100 is 420 yunderwater, then the process 400 returns 440. It should be noted thatthere is no monitoring of the beam-interrupt button 130 in the low-powermode. (The device 100 must first detect that it is underwater—or atleast that there is some water coating the I/O leads 140 and spanningthe bead 142 between the I/O leads 140 s, which can be accomplishedabove water if desired—before the beam-interrupt button 130 ismonitored.)

The detection of whether the device 100 is underwater is performed usingthe process 500 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 by measuring theimpedance across the I/O leads 140. Fresh water will provide animpedance of less than 50 kΩ across the leads 140 and salt water willprovide an impedance of less than 20 kΩ across the leads 140, while airwill provide an impedance of considerably more than 50 kΩ across theleads 140. The process 500 begins by measuring 505 the voltage acrossthe I/O leads 140, and determining 510 whether the voltage is less than250 mV. If the voltage is not 510 n less than 250 mV, then a voltage isbeing applied to the leads 140, either for programming, data retrieval,or battery charging, and the process returns 550. However, if thevoltage is 510 y less than 250 mV, then a voltage of V_(cc) is applied515 to the positive voltage I/O lead 140 a by way of the resistor R7(shown in FIG. 2B) having a resistance of 3.3 kΩ. After a delay 520 ofthree times the time constant for capacitor C7 and resistor R7, i.e.,roughly 50 microseconds, the voltage V across the leads 140 is measured525. The impedance Z across the leads 140 is then determined 530according to the formula Z=V*R/(V_(cc)−V). It is then determined 535whether the impedance Z is less than 50 kΩ. If the impedance Z is 535 yless than 50 kΩ, then an underwater flag is set 540 and the underwaterdetection process 500 returns 550. If the impedance Z is not 535 n lessthan 50 kΩ, then the underwater flag is not set and the underwaterdetection process 500 returns 550.

The counting of taps on the beam-interrupt button 130 is performed usingthe process flow 600 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6. The process 600begins by initializing 605 a counter nTaps to a value of zero. Then aFOR loop 610 is implemented to examine in reverse chronological ordereach of the past sixty-four measurements of the state of thebeam-interrupt button 130. Measurements are spaced sixty-twomilliseconds apart, so the FOR loop monitors the activity on the button130 for roughly the last four seconds. (Although not depicted in FIG. 6,each of the sixty-four button-state measurements is a combination oftwelve measurements of the state of the beam taken approximately fivemilliseconds apart.) The first operations within the FOR loop 610 are tocount 615 the run of the number of measurements which have the samestate as the current state of the beam-interrupt button 130, anddetermine 620 whether the run is less than the maximum “tap duration,”which is taken to be five consecutive measurements. If the run is 620 yless than the maximum tap duration, then the user may still be in theprocess of tapping on the button 130 and a value of zero is returned625. However, if the run is not 620 n less than the maximum tapduration, then it is determined 630 whether the next measurement (i.e.,the one previous in time) to the run is the pressed state. If not 630 n,then the counter nTaps is incremented 640 by one. If it is 630 y thepressed state, then the following measurements (i.e., the ones previousin time to that) are scanned until a not-pressed state is reached 635,and then the counter nTaps is incremented 640 by one. After the counternTaps is incremented 640 by one, the next run of not-pressed states iscounted 650, and it is determined 655 that the run has a length greaterthan the maximum tap separation. If so 655 y, then the user has stoppedtapping and the number of taps nTaps is returned 660.

FIG. 7 shows timelines with exemplary communications by the devices 1100of the present invention. The first group of two timelines 701 showsreceptions and transmissions of a Unit A 100 and a Unit B 100, ontimelines 702 and 703, respectively. Unit A 100 listens at regularintervals for transmissions by the other device (Unit B 100) during Gate1 reception windows 730.1, 730.2, and 730.3. (Gate 1 reception windowswill be referenced generically or collectively with the referencenumeral 730.) Similarly, Unit B 100 listens at regular intervals fortransmissions by the other device (Unit A 100) during Gate 1 receptionwindows 730.4 and 730.5. In the preferred embodiment the starting pointsof Gate 1 reception windows 730 of a device 100 are separated bytwenty-two bit lengths. Generally, the Gate 1 reception windows of thetwo devices 100 are displaced from each other. In the example shown,Unit B 100 begins a signal transmission 750.1 after its second Gate 1reception window 730.5, and the third Gate 1 reception window 730.3 ofUnit B 100 occurs during this transmission 750.1. (Signal transmissionswill be referenced generically or collectively with the referencenumeral 750.) In contrast to the previous reception windows 730.1,730.2, 730.4 and 730.5 of both devices 100 where there was notransmission from the other device 100 to be received, the reception ofa portion of the transmission 730.3 from Unit B by Unit A 100 inducesUnit A 100 to receive during an extended reception window, Gate 2reception window 740.1. Upon Unit A 100 receiving the portion of thetransmission 750.1 which overlaps with the Gate 2 reception window740.1, Unit A 100 sends an acknowledgement signal 755, which is theportion of the transmission 750.1 just received, beginning after a knowndelay time. And Unit B 100, expecting an acknowledgement listens for theacknowledgement signal 755 during a reception window 740.2 begun afteran appropriate delay.

The next group of timelines 705, 706, 707 and 708 (referred tocollectively with reference numeral 704) shows a magnified view of asingle transmission packet 750.2, such as the transmission packet 750.1,Gate 1 reception windows 730.6 and 730.7 in timeline 706, Gate 2reception window 740.3 in timeline 707, Gate 1 reception window 730.8 intimeline 708, and Gate 2 reception window 740.4 in timeline 709. Thetransmission packet 750.2 consists of an initial 23-bit Golay code 750.2a, followed by an intermediate gap 750.2 b having a length of 2.5 bits,followed by a repetition of the initial 23-bit Golay code 750.2 c.(Generically, the initial 23-bit Golay code, intermediate gap, andrepetition of the initial 23-bit Golay code will be assigned referencenumerals 750 a, 750 b and 750 c, respectively.) As shown in themagnified timeline 716 of two bits 711.1 and 711.2 and the magnifiedtimeline 717 of sampling slices 714.1 through 714.8, there are foursampling slices per bit length, and the bit transmissions have aninter-symbol pause of 50%, i.e., each bit 711.1 and 711.2 has an initialtransmission portion 711.1 a and 711.2 a followed by an inter-symbolpause 711.1 b and 711.2 b in the transmission of equal length. Eachinter-symbol pause 711.b allows the multi-path delay spread from echoesand the ringing of the transducer 115 to die down before the next symbolis transmitted. Therefore, the characteristic time for the ringing ofthe transducer 115 and the echoes should be smaller than the length ofthe inter-symbol pauses 711.b.

It should be noted that in the gap 750 b there is also a 0.5 bit lengthpause after the transmission period of two bit lengths, so that theinitial Golay code 750 a and the repeated Golay code 750 c are separatedby 2.5 bit lengths. (Bits will be generically or collectively referredto with reference numeral 711 and slices will be generically orcollectively referred to with reference numeral 714.) Theinteger-plus-one-half bits length of the gap 750 b aids in the processof locating the gap 750 b because those slices 714 which occur duringthe transmissions 711.a in the first 23-bit Golay code 750.a occurduring the pauses 711.b between transmissions 711.a in the second 23-bitGolay code 750.c, and vice versa. Each bit 711 in the first and second23-bit Golay codes 750.2 a and 750.2 c is a 57 kHz or 58 kHztransmission, and the intermediate gap 750.2 b is a 56 kHz transmission.The Gate 1 reception windows 730 consists of eight slices, i.e., theGate 1 reception windows 730 have a length of two bit times. The Gate 2reception windows 750 consist of 106 slices 714, i.e., the Gate 2reception windows 750 have a length of 26.5 bit times.

The beginnings of Gate 1 reception windows 730 are separated by 22 bittimes, insuring that a complete 23-bit code will be received in a Gate 2reception window if a Gate 1 reception window 730 receives part of atransmission 750. At one extreme, which is depicted in timelines 706 and707 in conjunction with timeline 705, the transmission 750.2 beginsimmediately after the end of a Gate 1 reception window 730.6. The nextGate 1 reception window 730.7 therefore falls within the initial 23-bitGolay code 750.2 a of the transmission 750.2, allowing Unit A 100 todetermine that a transmission has been sent during that Gate 1 receptionwindow 730.7. Upon determining that a transmission has been sent (by aprocess discussed in detail below in conjunction with FIG. 8), Unit A100 then performs a Gate 2 reception window 740.3 having a length of26.5 bits. As is apparent from timelines 705 and 707, the Gate 2reception window 740.3 is long enough to receive the last bit of thefirst 23-bit Golay code 750.2 a, the gap 750.2 b, and the entirety ofthe repeated 23-bit Golay code 750.2 c.

At the other extreme shown in timelines 708 and 709 (in conjunction withtimeline 705), where the Gate 1 reception window 730.8 is one slice 714later than Gate 1 reception window 730.6 of timeline 706, the last sliceof the Gate 1 reception window 730.8 overlaps with the first bit of theinitial 23-bit Golay code 750.2 a of the transmission 750.2. Upondetermining that a transmission has been sent, Unit A 100 then performsa Gate 2 reception window 740.4. As is apparent from the timelines 705and 709, the Gate 2 reception window 740.4 is long enough to receive thesecond bit of the initial 23-bit Golay code 750.2 a on through theentirety of the initial 23-bit Golay code 750.2 a, the gap 750.2 b, andthe first bit of the repeated 23-bit Golay code 750.2 c.

The process 1200 of transmitting a signal is shown in the flowchart ofFIG. 12. The process 1200 begins with the appending of eleven bits 711to a 12-bit payload to create a 23-bit Golay code. Then, for each of the23 bits, a FOR loop 1211 which begins at box 1210 transmits the initialportion 750 a of the transmission. First, the frequency for each bit isset 1215. Binary frequency-shift keying is used, and in the preferredembodiment the frequency (referred to as either Freq1 or ω₁ in thepresent specification) used for zero bits is 58 kHz and the frequency(referred to as either Freq2 or ω₂ in the present specification) usedfor unity bits is 57 kHz, and in the gap 750 b a frequency of 56 kHz istransmitted. The output drivers 250 are then enabled 1220 and theappropriate frequency is transmitted for the number of cycles of thesinusoid which fits into R+1 slices 714, where R+1 is the number ofslices over which transmission occurs in each bit of the Golay code. Inthe preferred embodiment of the present invention, R=1, and, asdiscussed above and shown in FIG. 7, each bit 711 consists of B=4 slices714. After the transmission 1225, the output drivers 250 are disabled1230 and the number of cycles of the sinusoid which fits into (B−(R+1))slices 714 is counted 1235 before proceeding 1240 to the next bit 711.After all 23 bits of a Golay code have been transmitted, a branch 1245is made depending on whether the Golay code just transmitted was theGolay code of the first portion 750 a of a transmission or the Golaycode of the second portion 750 c of a transmission. If it was not 1245 nthe transmission of the first half 750 a, then the process 1200 returns1299. If it was 1245 y the transmission of the first half 750 a, thenthe gap transmission frequency of 56 kHz is set 1250, the output drivers250 are enabled 1255, and the number of cycles of the sinusoid whichfits into 2B slices 714 is counted 1260 before disabling 1265 the outputdrivers 250. (Since it is less problematic to detect an off-frequencysignal than to detect a lack of signal due to the possibility ofdetecting echoes, a sinusoid is transmitted during the gap 750 b, ratherthan not transmitting during this period.) Then the number of cycles ofthe gap sinusoid which fit into (B−(R+1)) slices 714 is counted 1235before proceeding to the FOR loop 1211 for transmission of the secondhalf 750 c of the signal. It should be noted that this produces a shift,modulo the bit length, of one half of a bit between the initial Golaycode 750 a and the repeated Golay code 750 c.

The process 800 of listening for and receiving a transmission packet 750is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8. The process 800 begins with a Gate1 reception window 730 where sine and cosine correlations are calculated900 (as discussed in detail below in conjunction with FIG. 9) for thetwo (non-gap) transmission frequencies (57 kHz and 58 kHz) for each ofthe eight slices 714 in the Gate 1 reception window 730. Then it isdetermined whether the reception in any of the slices 714 has power atone of the two transmission frequencies above a threshold value. If not810 n, then the process 800 returns 899. However, if 810 y there ispower in any slice 714 above the threshold value, then correlations(i.e., where in the present specification “correlations” are the Fouriersine and cosine components for the two transmission frequencies over aslice 714, as described in detail below in conjunction with FIG. 10) arecalculated 815 for each of the one-hundred-and-six slices 714 in thefollowing Gate 2 reception window 740. From the correlations, the gap750 b is located and an optimal framing of the slices 714 relative tothe bits 711 is determined 1100 (as discussed in detail below inconjunction with FIG. 11). Then the 23-bit Golay code of thetransmission is determined 825 by a reordering of the bits 711, and ifthere have been any errors in the reception these are corrected 830using the correction procedures available for Golay codes. It is thendetermined 835 whether the operation code is a mating-initiationinstruction, and if so 835 y then the device 100 flashes its LEDs 230 toindicate that and begins a mating procedure 840. If the receivedoperation code is not 835 n a mating-initiation instruction, then it isdetermined 845 whether the received code is a public code, and if so 845y the device 100 begins pulsing 850 the LEDs 230 to indicate that apublic code has been received. If the received code is not 845 n apublic code, then it is determined 855 whether the received decode is amated code (i.e., it has a decode which is being used for communicationsbetween the device 100 and other devices 100 to which it is mated), andif so 855 y the device 100 flashes 860 the LEDs 230, and creates a toneor series of tones by parametric downmixing, corresponding to the tapcode received. If the received code is not 855 n a mated code, then theprocess 800 returns 899.

The Gate 1 reception process 900 is shown in detail in FIG. 9. Theprocess 900 begins by computing correlations for the two (non-gap)transmission frequencies for each of the eight slices 714 in the Gate 1reception window 730. Then, for 905 each of the eight slices 714, a FORloop 906 implemented. The FOR loop 906 begins by calculating the powerat each of the two transmission frequencies. It is then determined 915whether the power received at the lower frequency, Power1, is greaterthan three times the mean noise plus the power received at the higherfrequency, Power2. If so 915 y, then the Gate 1 reception window 730 hasreceived a bit at the lower frequency, so a Gate1 reception isconsidered to have occurred 920, i.e., the Gate 1 stage is “passed.” Ifnot 915 n, then it is determined 925 whether the power received at thehigher frequency, Power2, is greater than three times the mean noiseplus the power received at the lower frequency, Power1. If so 925 y,then the Gate1 stage is passed 920. If not 925 n, then the FOR loopcycles 930 for examination of the next slice 714. Once the Gate 1 stageis passed 920 or all the slices 714 have been examined by the FOR loop906, the noise (which is taken to be the power in the frequency with thelower power, i.e., Min[Power1, Power2]) is added to an exponentialaverage for the mean noise, and the process returns 999. In particular,the j^(th) estimation of the mean noise σ_(j) is calculated according toσ_(j)=α*Min[Power1,Power2]+(1−α)*σ_(j−1),  (1)where in the preferred embodiment α= 1/16.

The process 1000 of computing the “correlation” between the incomingsignal φ_(i)(t) and sines and cosines at the non-gap transmissionfrequencies of Freq1 and Freq2 (which in the case of the preferredembodiment are 57 kHz and 58 kHz) is shown in FIG. 10. The process 1000consists of a FOR loop 1006 for the N slices 714 to be examined. Theprocess 1000 begins by entering 1005 the FOR loop 1006, and theaccumulations (described below) for sine and cosine at Freq1 and Freq2,ω₁ and ω₂, are zeroed. Then a FOR loop 1016 for the number of samples Sper slice 714, where in the preferred embodiment S is a few thousand, isentered 1015. The signal φ_(i)(t) received at the transducer 115 issampled and digitized 1020 to only one bit of resolution and assigned avalue of +1 if the signal is greater than or equal to zero and −1 if thesignal is less than zero. The values of sine and cosine at a phasecorresponding to the sample number j are looked up 1021 from a look-uptable, and multiplied 1022 with the digitized transducer signal andaccumulated (i.e., added to a running sum) for the sine and cosine atboth frequencies. Then the phase is advanced 1030 by one sample time andthe next 1035 sample is considered. The sine and cosine accumulationsA_(sin) and A_(cos) for a slice 714 for frequencies ω₁ and ω₂ istherefore given by

$\begin{matrix}{{{A_{\sin}\left( \omega_{n} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{S - 1}{\left\lbrack {\phi_{i}\left( {t_{0} + {jɛ}} \right)} \right\rbrack_{- 1}^{+ 1}{\sin\left( {\omega_{n}\left( {t_{0} + {jɛ}} \right)} \right)}}}},{and}} & (2) \\{{{A_{\cos}\left( \omega_{n} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{S - 1}{\left\lbrack {\phi_{i}\left( {t_{0} + {jɛ}} \right)} \right\rbrack_{- 1}^{+ 1}{\cos\left( {\omega_{n}\left( {t_{0} + {jɛ}} \right)} \right)}}}},} & (3)\end{matrix}$where t₀ is the time at the beginning of the slice 714, the quantity insquare brackets is quantized to positive unity if it has a value greaterthan zero and quantized to negative unity if it has a value less thanzero, and ε=Δt/S where Δt is the time length of a slice 714. As can beseen from equations (2) and (3), the sine and cosine accumulationsA_(sin) and A_(cos) are effectively the sine and cosine Fouriertransforms, respectively, of square wave versions of the incoming signalφ_(i)(t). The quantization of the received signal φ_(i)(t) to one bit issufficient because the accumulation values A_(sin) and A_(cos) areunambiguous for strong signals, and all that can be obtained anyway forweak signals. Once all the samples in a slice 714 have been considered,the FOR loop 1016 terminates, the sine and cosine accumulations A_(sin)and A_(cos) at both frequencies ω₁ and ω₂ are saved 1040 and the next1045 slice 714 is considered in the FOR loop 1006. When all the slices714 have been considered, the process 1000 returns 1099.

The process 1100 of identifying the gap 750 b in a transmission packet750 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11. The process 1100 begins byentering 1105 a FOR loop 1106 for (N+G+1)*B slices, where N is thenumber of bits in the Golay codes (i.e., 23), G is the bit length of thegap 750 b and, as before, B is the number of slices 714 per bit 711. Themagnitude M at both frequencies ω₁ and ω₂ is calculated 1110 for eachslice 714 according toM(ω₁)=√{square root over ((A _(sin)(ω₁))²+(A _(cos)(ω₁))²)}{square rootover ((A _(sin)(ω₁))²+(A _(cos)(ω₁))²)},  (4)andM(ω₂)=√{square root over ((A _(sin)(ω₂))²+(A _(cos)(ω₂))²)}{square rootover ((A _(sin)(ω₂))²+(A _(cos)(ω₂))²)},  (5)and the signal magnitude is calculated 1115 for each slice 714 accordingtoΔ=|M(ω₁)−M(ω₂)|.  (6)The start and finish times of the gap 750 b are then identified by a FORloop 1131 within a FOR loop 1126. The outer FOR loop 1126 steps avariable called Framing through the B slices 714 within each bit 711.The inner FOR loop 1131 steps a variable called Gap through the first(N+1) bits 711 in the signal φ_(i)(t) under consideration. A trialpositioning of the gap 750 b is set at the Gap^(th) bit 711, and thenthe minimum of the signal magnitude Δ from the Framing^(th) slice 714,(Framing+B)^(th) slice 714, (Framing+2B)^(th) slice 714, etc. before thetrial gap 750 b, and the (Framing+2+nB)^(th) slice 714,(Framing+2+(n+1)*B)^(th) slice 714, (Framing+2+(n+2)*B)^(th) slice 714,etc. after the gap (i.e., excluding those slices 714 within the trialpositioning of the gap 750 b and shifting by the length of the gap 750 bmodulo the bit length) is selected 1135 and saved 1140 as the variableMinSignal. If the trial positioning of the gap 750 b corresponds to theactual positioning of the gap 750 b, then MinSignal will not beparticularly small compared to all the situations where the trialpositioning of the gap 750 b differs from the actual positioning of thegap 750 b. This is because when the trial positioning of the gap 750 bdiffers from the actual positioning of the gap 750 b, at least one slice714 is examined where there is no power at either ω₁ or ω₂ and so thevalue of the signal magnitude Δ is small. Therefore, after completion ofthe FOR loops 1126 and 1131, the MinSignal values are sorted 1160 andthe largest of the MinSignal values corresponds to the trial positioningof the gap 750 b that best reflects the actual position of the gap 750b.

The process 1300 of pulse-width modulation for the LEDs 230 is shown inthe flowchart of FIG. 13. A timer begins 1305 the process 1300 every 16milliseconds by accessing an LED mask that specifies which of the LEDs230 are to be turned on, and the LEDs 230 specified by the mask areturned on 1315. Then another timer waits 1320 the amount of time whichthe LEDs 230 are supposed to be on before turning off 1325 all the LEDs1325. Then a FOR loop 1331 is entered where for 1330 all the LEDs 230, amask counter is decremented 1335. The mask counter specifies for eachLED 230 how many times it is to be turned on. It is then determined 1340whether the mask counter has a value of zero. If 1340 y the counter fora particular LED 230 has been decremented to zero, then the mask bitwhich specifies whether further flashings of the LED 230 is required isturned off 1345. Once the mask counters for all the LEDs 230 have beenupdated in the FOR loop 1331, the process loops back to the timer 1305.

The process 1400 for the Interruptor Engine which fills a buffer ofstates for the beam-interrupt button 130 is shown in the flowchart ofFIG. 14. A timer begins 1405 the process 1400 every 5.6 milliseconds byintegrating 1410 for a fixed time (and converting to a digital value)the current produced by the phototransistor of the infra-red detector117 during a period when the LED of the infra-red emitter 118 is off.Then, the current produced by the phototransistor of the infra-reddetector 117 is integrated 1415 for a fixed time (and converted to adigital value) while the LED of the infra-red emitter 118 is on. Thedifference between the two values is taken 1420 and accumulated (i.e.,added to a running total). It is then determined 1425 whether the numberof accumulated values is greater than or equal to twelve. If not 1425 n,then the process 1400 loops back to the timer step 1405. If so 1425 y,then it is determined 1430 whether the charge produced when the LED ofthe infra-red emitter 118 was off was greater than half the full-scalevalue. If so 1430 y, the ambient light is considerable and a value ofzero is shifted 1445 into a FIFO (first in, first out) buffer and theaccumulator is cleared 1460. If the charge produced when the LED of theinfra-red emitter 118 was off was not 1430 n greater than half thefull-scale value, then the charge accumulated difference is compared1440 to a threshold value. If the accumulated difference is less than orequal to 1440 a the threshold, then the button 130 is “depressed” so avalue of one is shifted 1445 into the FIFO buffer and the accumulator iscleared 1460. However, if the accumulated difference is greater than1440 b the threshold, then the button 130 is not being depressed so avalue of zero is shifted 1445 into the FIFO buffer and the accumulatoris cleared 1460. The buffer stores 64 bits, so the buffer represents thelast 64×12×5.6 milliseconds=4.3 seconds of button states.

Thus, it will be seen that the inventions and improvements presentedhere are consistent with the object of the invention described above.While the description contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the invention but rather asexemplifications of preferred embodiments thereof. A small sampling ofthe alternatives is: the “flashing” of a light or lights may be a changeof state of any sort, such as a change in color, a change in brightness,an on-to-off transition or off-to-on transition; the device may beadditionally tethered to the strap of a divers mask with a lanyard; thedevice may be secured to the glass of the divers mask using a meansother than a suction cup; the device may be secured to the divers maskoutside the range of vision of the diver, and the light from the LEDsmay be conducted to within the range of the diver's vision using a lightpipe or multiple light pipes, thereby reducing the amount which thesystem obstructs a diver's vision; the light-emitting ends of theaforementioned light pipe may be attached to a fit into a socket on aclear suction cup which is attachable to the glass of the diver's mask;an extended tap of say 3 seconds while underwater may be used as apublic-channel emergency or distress signal, and all devices withinrange of the emergency signal may respond by a flashing of their redLEDs or yellow LEDs or alternating between the flashing of their red andyellow LEDs, etc.; another light source, such as a vertical cavitysurface emitting laser, may be used for the light emitter of thebeam-interrupt button; if a device has been underwater for over twohours it can be assumed that the device or diver is lost and so thedevice may transmit a lost/tracking signal every 60 seconds, and ifother devices detect the lost/tracking signal they may respond with asignal that will cause the lost device to increase the frequency oftransmission of its lost/tracking signal to facilitate the location ofthe device; if an acknowledgement is not received in response to acommunication within an expected round-trip communication time, theoriginal communication is resent; the binary frequency-shift frequenciesused can differ from those described; the binary frequency-shiftfrequencies can be assigned to the bit values and the gap differentlythan the assignments described; the particular time intervals specifiedmay differ slightly or significantly, and values for resistances,capacitances, voltages, etc. may differ slightly or significantly; aircavities around the lenses of the beam-interrupt button emitter anddetector may be formed by other means, or focusing or collimation of thelight from the emitter may be accomplished by other means; etc. Itshould also be noted that components of the device and method of thepresent invention may be used in systems other than a transceiver. Forinstance, a power source, interior portions of input/output leads, acomputation unit and a sensor may be completely encapsulated in plasticas taught in the present specification to provide a device formonitoring a diving variable (where “diving variable” is meant to beunderstood in a broad sense as an underwater variable of interest), suchas the level of gas in a breathing tank, rate of ascent, depth.Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention bedetermined not by the embodiments illustrated but, rather, by theappended claims and their legal equivalents.

1. An underwater transceiver worn by a first diver for signaling to asecond diver, comprising: a power source, input/output leads, acomputation unit powered by said power source for generating outgoingsignals and processing incoming signals, an electromechanical transducerwhich generates outgoing compression waves corresponding to saidoutgoing signals generated by said computation unit, and saidelectromechanical transducer transducing incoming compression waves tosaid incoming signals for said processing by said computation unit, abeam-interrupt button having a light source producing a light beamdirected towards a light detector, said light source and said lightdetector being separated by a gap into which a finger of said firstdiver is insertable to create an interruption in said beam, saidinterruption in said beam being detected by said computation unit andtransmitted via said outgoing signals, and a chassis completely andpermanently encasing said power source, said computation unit, saidlight source, said light detector, said electromechanical transducer,and interior portions of said input/output leads, exterior portions ofsaid input/output leads being exposed to the environment.
 2. Theunderwater transceiver of claim 1 wherein said chassis is a plasticwhich is molded around said power source, said computation unit, saidlight source, said light detector, said electromechanical transducer,and said interior portions of said input/output leads.
 3. The underwatertransceiver of claim 1 wherein said electromechanical transducer is asubstantially ring-shaped electromechanical transducer.
 4. Theunderwater transceiver of claim 1 wherein said electromechanicaltransducer radiates substantially omni-directionally.
 5. The underwatertransceiver of claim 1 wherein said computation unit monitors impedanceacross said input/output leads to detect whether said input/output leadsare wetted by water.
 6. The underwater transceiver of claim 1 whereinsaid power source is a rechargeable battery and said input/output leadsare used to recharge said rechargeable battery.
 7. The underwatertransceiver of claim 1 wherein said input/output leads are further usedto program said computation unit.
 8. The underwater transceiver of claim1 wherein said light source is an infra-red LED and said light detectoris an infra-red sensitive photo-transistor.
 9. The underwatertransceiver of claim 1 further including a means for attachment to adiving mask and a signaling light to signal content of said incomingsignals.
 10. The underwater transceiver of claim 9 wherein said means ofattachment is a clear suction cup allowing said underwater transceiverto be attached to the glass of said diving mask, said signaling light insaid transceiver being located roughly behind said suction cup, and thesurfaces of said suction cup through which said signaling light travelsto be visible to said first diver being non-focusing.
 11. The underwatertransceiver of claim 1 wherein said electromechanical transducer is alead-zirconium-titanate ceramic.
 12. The underwater transceiver of claim2 wherein said plastic has an acoustic impedance intermediate betweenthat of said electromechanical transducer and that of water.
 13. Theunderwater transceiver of claim 12 wherein said plastic has a Shorehardness between D40 and D70.
 14. The underwater transceiver of claim 13wherein said plastic has a Shore hardness between D50 and D60.
 15. Theunderwater transceiver of claim 1 wherein said outgoing signals and saidincoming signals have portions which are binary frequency-shift keyingmodulated.
 16. The underwater transceiver of claim 15 wherein saidportions which are frequency-shift keying modulated have frequenciesbetween 10 and 100 kHz.
 17. The underwater transceiver of claim 15wherein said portions which are frequency-shift keying modulated havefrequencies between 40 and 80 kHz.
 18. The underwater transceiver ofclaim 15 wherein said portions which are frequency-shift keyingmodulated have frequencies between 50 and 65 kHz.
 19. The underwatertransceiver of claim 15 wherein bits of said portions which arefrequency-shift keying modulated have an inter-symbol pause of roughly50% of a separation between symbols.
 20. The underwater transceiver ofclaim 15 wherein bits of said portions which are frequency-shift keyingmodulated have an inter-symbol pause of at least 5 milliseconds.
 21. Theunderwater transceiver of claim 15 wherein bits of said portions whichare frequency-shift keying modulated have an inter-symbol pause of atleast 10 milliseconds.
 22. The underwater transceiver of claim 15wherein bits of said portions which are frequency-shift keying modulatedhave an inter-symbol pause of at least 15 milliseconds.
 23. Theunderwater transceiver of claim 15 wherein bits of said portions whichare frequency-shift keying modulated have an inter-symbol pause greaterthan a characteristic multipath delay spread.
 24. The underwatertransceiver of claim 15 wherein bits of said portions which arefrequency-shift keying modulated have an inter-symbol pause greater thana characteristic ringing time of said electromechanical transducer. 25.The underwater transceiver of claim 15 wherein an audio tone isgenerated from parametric downmixing by transmitting a first of thefrequency-shift key modulated frequencies followed, within a timeshorter than a characteristic ringing time of a transducer in saidunderwater transceiver, by a second of the frequency-shift key modulatedfrequencies, a difference between said first and second thefrequency-shift key modulated frequencies being in the human audiblerange.